The large scale (“monumental,” “symphonic,” etc) landscape is so impressive that it is easy to overlook smaller subjects in the wilderness. This is certainly true in the high regions of the Sierra Nevada, where the grand expression of the landscape predominates: great valleys, monumental peaks, immense sky, large stretches of forest. But years spent in all over the range finally taught me that the experience of the Sierra is at least as strongly composed of smaller things — the crunch of boots on the trail, cold pre-dawn air, texture of smooth granite, the sound of rushing water. (OK, the damned mosquitos, too. But let’s not go there!)

Those other things are the hardest to convey in a photograph, I think. (I still am not certain how to photographically convey the sonic experience…) On last summer’s weeklong visit to the high country of the John Muir Wilderness there was plenty of the big stuff to distract us at a first. We base-camped in a high elevation valley surrounded by high peaks that dominated out view. But nearby there were also meadows, and there was water flowing everywhere. I made this photograph of a small cascade only a few hundred feet from our camp.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

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Fractured Slabs, Reflection. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The patterns of fractured Sierra Nevada slabs reflected in the quiet surface of an alpine lake.

This lake was a productive target for all of us in a group of photographers and artists who base-camped for a week at 11,000′ in the Eastern Sierra last summer. Our camp was perhaps 15 minutes away from this beautiful lake set in a huge bowl at the base of a tall peak that dominated the view from almost everywhere in the area. In places near its outlet there were trees, rocks were everywhere, and the side at the base of the cliff was covered with large talus.

We all spent considerable time there. I know that I visited at least three times. On my first visit I did little more than get a sense of the prospects at the lake since the light wasn’t ideal at that time and there was a bit more wind than I wanted. On a second visit I went at just about the right time, but the many subjects distracted me and I missed the light for some that I had come for. I think it was on the third visit (or was it the fourth?) when I finally managed to get to this bit of textured slabs at the water’s edge before the bright morning light washed out the scene and before the day’s winds broke the smooth surface of the water.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

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Lake and Reflected Peaks. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Rugged peaks reflected in the surface of a quiet subalpine Sierra Nevada lake.

Many of my landscape photographs, at least those made in clear and sunny conditions, come from rather early in the morning or quite late in the day. As we know, the light is often very lovely at those times — it can be warm-toned, reflected light may fill shadows. But it is most certainly possible to photograph at almost any hour of the day, and that can broaden the photographic opportunities quite a bit.

While it was still somewhat early when I made this photograph, it was most certainly long past sunrise. The warm light had been replaced by the colder, bluer light of daytime. The geography of this location helped a bit — a very tall ridge stood to our east, and it blocked the direct sunlight until relatively late in the morning. After finishing my sunrise photography I ended up strolling slowly along the shoreline of this small lake, paying attention to the small inlets and peninsulas and to the ways that the smooth water reflected the surrounding peaks.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.